There is no political undertone to this picture or pit but it shows the desperate plight of a huge elephant which fell into a 20-foot pit at a village in Kahatagasdigiliya on Monday night and lay there in agony till it died on Wednesday evening. Villagers say they alerted wild life officials early on Tuesday but the officials fatally delayed the rescue mission because they did not have the required equipment. When they eventually found the equipment and came to the scene on Wednesday, the elephant was lying with its face and trunk up – apparently pleading for food water and help. The rescuers worked hard despite the heavy rain but the mission was too late and in vain. The elephant died while the rescue mission was under way. Pic by Athula Bandara